Elon Musk keeps grip on Tesla, promises to solve production problems

Tesla’s shareholders have re-elected three directors and voted against removing Elon Musk as company chairman. He says the electric car company will solve its Model 3 production problems.

Before the meeting, several major shareholding companies had insisted that the chairman and CEO titles should not be held by a single person. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said Musk is too busy with Twitter wars instead of “resolving the manufacturing challenges.”

Investor Antonio Gracias, Tesla’s lead independent director; James Murdoch, the CEO of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc; and Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal have all been re-elected as Tesla directors. Some shareholders had raised questions about their qualifications or independence.

Musk had forecasted that Tesla would have produced 400,000 Model 3 vehicles by now, but has failed to produce even a quarter of that figure. The company has posted only two profitable quarters in its 14-year history, and losses escalated to over $2 billion last year.

At the shareholders meeting, Musk said it is “quite likely” that Model 3 production would grow to 5,000 a week from 2,270 a week in April. “This is the most excruciating, hellish several months I’ve ever had... but I think we’re getting there,” Musk said after it had been decided he would keep his post.

Speaking about the company’s failure to reach production goals, the CEO and chairman said that Tesla is more about love than finance. “At Tesla, we build our cars with love. At a lot of other companies, they’re built by marketing or the finance department and there’s no soul. We’re not perfect but we pour our heart and soul into it and we really care.”